CVE-2021-3450

CVE-2021-3450 is a high-severity vulnerability in OpenSSL versions 1.1.1h through 1.1.1j, affecting various products including fedoraproject, freebsd, and oracle. It stems from an error in the X509_V_FLAG_X509_STRICT flag implementation, which could allow non-CA certificates to issue other certificates, bypassing a critical security check if an application explicitly sets this flag and either removes or overrides the default certificate purpose. The vulnerability has a CVSS score of 7.4 (High), indicating a network-based attack with high impact on confidentiality and integrity, but requiring high attack complexity. While the EPSS score is low, suggesting limited real-world exploitation, the FAUCET Risk Score of 47/100 highlights its potential. There is no evidence of active exploitation, nor are there publicly available Metasploit, Nuclei, or ExploitDB modules. However, the vulnerability has garnered significant community attention with 7 mentions in discussions and 3 media articles, indicating awareness among security professionals.